Mariner 9 navigation

A final, comprehensive description of the navigation of Mariner 9-the first U.S. spacecraft to orbit another planet is provided. The Mariner 9 navigation function included not only precision flight path control but also pointing of the spacecraft's scientific instruments mounted on a two degree of freedom scan platform. To the extent appropriate, each section describes the perflight analyses on which the operational strategies and performance predictions were based. Inflight results are then discussed and compared with the preflight predictions. Postflight analyses, which were primarily concerned with developing a thorough understanding of unexpected in-flight results, are also presented.